Austral English / A dictionary of Australasian words, phrases and usages with those aboriginal-Australian and Maori words which have become incorporated in the language, and the commoner scientific words that have had their origin in Australasia

by Edward Ellis Morris

[See <i>Grass</i>.]

<hw>Raupo</hw>, <i>n</i>. Maori name for a New Zealand bulrush, <i>Typha angustifolia</i>, Linn. The leaves are used for building native houses. The pollen, called <i>Punga-Punga</i> (q.v.), was collected and made into bread called <i>pua</i>. The root was also eaten. It is not endemic in New Zealand, but is known in many parts, and was called by the aborigines of Australia, <i>Wonga</i>, and in Europe "Asparagus of the Cossacks." Other names for it are <i>Bulrush</i>, <i>Cat's Tail</i>, <i>Reed Mace</i>, and <i>Cooper's Flag</i>.

1827. Augustus Earle, `Narrative of Nine Months' Residence in New Zealand,' `New Zealand Reader,' p. 67:

"Another party was collecting rushes, which grow plentifully in the neighbourhood, and are called raupo."

1833. Henry Williams's Diary, `Carleton's Life,' p. 151:

"The Europeans were near us in a raupo whare [rush-house]."

1835. W. Yate, `Account of New Zealand,' p. 205:

"To engage the natives to build raupo, that is, rush-houses."

1842. W. R. Wade, `A Journey in the North Island of New Zealand,' `New Zealand Reader,' p. 122:

"The raupo, the reed-mace of New Zealand, always grows in swampy ground. The leaves or blades when full grown are cut and laid out to dry, forming the common building material with which most native houses are constructed."